Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Stock Has Average Price Target of $57.00

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $57.00.

A number of analysts recently commented on CNQ shares. Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 3.3%

CNQ stock opened at $52.15 on Wednesday. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1-year low of $29.68 and a 1-year high of $52.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.15 and its 200-day moving average is $46.52. The firm has a market cap of $107.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 0.53.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.15. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 22.78%. The firm had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.40 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a C$0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the second quarter valued at $26,000. CX Institutional acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited is an independent crude oil and natural gas exploration, development, production, marketing and transportation company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company produces synthetic crude oil, conventional heavy and light crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas.

Its operations are concentrated in Western Canada and include oil sands mining and upgrading projects in northern Alberta, conventional and heavy-oil assets, and natural gas production.